June 8, 2005

Queens, NY - Sophomore Anthony Sullivan (Arlington, MA) capped off a stellar 2005 Major League Baseball Draft for the St. John's University baseball team when he was selected in the 19th round by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Sullivan was the sixth St. John's baseball player selected among the first 19 rounds of the draft, which was held over two days.

St. John's finished the 2005 season with a 41-18 record and were ranked No. 30 in the country by Collegiate Baseball. The team was selected as an at-large representative to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year and advanced to the Regional Championship, where they lost to third-ranked Oregon State. St. John's won the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship with a 19-4 mark in league play and posted a school record 41 wins, the most since the 1978 Frank Viola-led team advanced to the College World Series.

Red Storm junior All-American pitcher Craig Hansen (Glen Cove, NY) was selected by the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox with the 26th pick of the first round in the first day of the draft, the highest a St. John's player had been selected since C.J. Nitkowski was taken with the ninth pick of the first round in 1994. Hansen was one of five St. John's players selected in the first day of the draft.

Other St. John's players selected on Tuesday included junior pitcher Anthony Varvaro (Staten Island, NY), who was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the 12th round, the third pick of the round and the 353rd overall. Junior centerfielder Greg Thomson (Levittown, NY) was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the first pick of the 15th round (the 441st overall), senior shortstop P.J. Antoniato (Levittown, NY) was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 16th pick of the 15th round (the 457th overall) and senior catcher Joe Burke (Brooklyn, NY) was selected by the New York Yankees with the 16th pick of the 18th round (the 559th pick overall).

The six players selected this year are the most drafted in one season in 10 years under the direction of head coach Ed Blankmeyer, who has had 28 players sign professional contracts prior to the 2005 amateur draft.

Sullivan, who was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team at the Corvallis Regional, finished the 2005 season with an 8-3 record and a 2.43 earned run average, the third-best mark on the team. He appeared in 24 games, starting 12, throwing 77.2 innings. Sullivan gave up 26 runs (21 earned) on 54 hits, with 39 walks and 73 strikeouts, fourth on the team.

In his final start of the year, on Sunday against Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament, the sophomore threw the first complete game of his career, and the lone nine-inning complete game for a St. John's pitcher, leading the Red Storm to the NCAA Regional Championship game in a 7-2 win. He allowed one unearned run on six hits with one walk and eight strikeouts.

Sullivan moved back into the St. John's starting rotation in mid-April, and won six-straight decisions, carrying a 1.18 earned run average and striking out 38 batters in 38 innings pitched.